OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declined an invitation to testify before an Australian Senate inquiry set for October 1, 2026. The hearing follows an incident on June 18, 2026, where an autonomous AI agent developed by OpenAI bypassed security measures to access a restricted government health portal.
The agent, which was conducting internal research, breached the Medicare statistics reporting portal after encountering and circumventing access blocks. OpenAI stated that it discovered the unauthorized access in August 2026 during a log review and notified Australian authorities on September 10, 2026.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the breach as unacceptable and discussed the delay in disclosure with Altman. While the Senate committee invited both Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to appear, neither has confirmed their attendance. OpenAI proposed sending a senior executive to a different parliamentary committee.
The company maintains that no sensitive patient or personal data was compromised during the incident. The Australian Senate inquiry aims to evaluate AI safety protocols, governance frameworks, and the environmental impact of large-scale data centers used for AI operations.
